It’s Wednesday, March 27th, 2019…but before we begin, we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this news bulletin:

Dem Sen. Tom Udall announces he won’t seek re-election in 2020

“I see these next two years as an incredible opportunity,” Udall said. “Without the distraction of another campaign, I can get so much more done to help reverse the damage done to our planet, end the scourge of war, and to stop this president’s assault on our democracy and our communities.”

He added: “These are three real crises that are happening right now and are threatening the very foundations of our great nation. If we don’t do something, it will soon be too late.”

So in less than two years, this self-impressed Senator is going restore the planet, end war and stop Trump’s assault on “our democracy”.  Who does Udall think he is: Barack Hussein Obama?!?

Timing’s everything, and Udall obviously didn’t anticipate his announcement would clash with Robert Mueller’s confirmation the greatest threat to the Founders’ Republic emanates from his own party.

Now, here’s The Gouge!

First up, courtesy of the WSJ, Kim Strassel writes…

Mueller Is Done. Now Probe the Real Scandal

Americans deserve a full accounting of the missteps of Comey and the FBI.

Attorney General William Barr has reported to Congress that special counsel Robert Mueller has cleared President Trump and his campaign team of claims of conspiring with Russia during the 2016 election. This is more than an exoneration. It’s a searing indictment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as a reminder of the need to know the story behind the bureau’s corrosive investigation.

Mr. Mueller’s report likely doesn’t put it that way, but it’s the logical conclusion of his no-collusion finding. The FBI unleashed its powers on a candidate for the office of the U.S. presidency, an astonishing first. It did so on the incredible grounds that the campaign had conspired to aid a foreign government. And it used the most aggressive tools in its arsenal—surveillance of U.S. citizens, secret subpoenas of phone records and documents, even human informants.

The wreckage is everywhere. The nation has been engulfed in conspiracy theories for years. A presidency was hemmed in by the threat of a special counsel. Citizens have gone to jail not for conspiracy, but for after-the-fact interactions with Mr. Mueller’s team. Dozens more have spent enormous amounts of money and time defending their reputations.

None of this should ever have happened absent highly compelling evidence—from the start—of wrongdoing. Yet from what we know, the FBI operated on the basis of an overheard conversation of third-tier campaign aide George Papadopoulos, as well as a wild “dossier” financed by the rival presidential campaign. Mr. Mueller’s no-collusion finding amounts to a judgment that there never was any evidence. The Papadopoulos claim was thin, the dossier a fabrication. (Funded by the Clinton campaign.)

Which is all the more reason Americans now deserve a full accounting of the missteps of former FBI Director James Comey and his team—in part so that this never happens again. That includes the following: What “evidence” did the FBI have in totality? What efforts did the bureau take to verify it? Did it corroborate anything before launching its probe? What role did political players play? How aware was the FBI that it was being gulled into a dirty-trick operation, and if so, how did it justify proceeding? How intrusive were the FBI methods? And who was harmed?

If Mr. Mueller has done his job properly, his report will address some of this. His team would have had to look into the sources of the allegations as part of determining the documents’ (lack of) veracity. A Mueller report that doesn’t mention the dossier and its political provenance, or questionable news stories used to justify surveillance warrants, for instance, is a report that is playing politics.

The fuller accounting will come only through total disclosure of FBI and Justice Department probe documents. Mr. Trump promised that disclosure in September but has yet to follow through. That transparency is now a necessity. The Mueller report is only half the story. With the special-counsel probe at an end, it’s time to go back the beginning—to the documents that explain its origin. Only then will Americans have the full story of the Russia-collusion narrative.

Also courtesy of the Journal, Bill McGurn notes this investigation needs to encompass more than just the FBI: 

“…In light of Mr. Mueller’s findings, there are only two ways to interpret these actions and statements from senior members of the intelligence community. The first is that they got played because they were incompetent. Anyone who reads the compromising texts between FBI master spy Peter Strzok and his FBI lover, Lisa Page, might well find the clown argument persuasive.

But there’s something even worse than an intelligence community that has been played. It’s an intelligence community that chose to play along simply because its members hated Donald Trump. For a full reckoning, America will need an accounting of the evidence used to launch that counterintelligence probe, the unmasking of officials, the leaks, and the likely abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants.

The lesson here is this: Be careful what you wish for. Because the questions this special prosecutor has unleashed might yet yield federal criminal indictments. Just not for the people the fantasists of Russian collusion expected.“

And as our old friend Art Santry observed, Trump is on recored as having fired Jim Comey over the Russian collusion investigation; which means The Donald was RIGHT to have fired his sorry, lying, treasonous a*s.

Since we’re on the subject of sorry, lying asses, writing at the WSJ, Sean Davis details how the entire Russian collusion narrative required…

A Catastrophic Media Failure

America’s blue-chip journalists botched the Russia story from its birth to its final breath Sunday.

“Robert Mueller’s investigation is over, but questions still abound. Not about collusion, Russian interference or obstruction of justice, but about the leading lights of journalism who managed to get the story so wrong, and for so long.

It wasn’t merely an error here or there. America’s blue-chip journalists botched the entire story, from its birth during the presidential campaign to its final breath Sunday—and they never stopped congratulating themselves for it. Last year the New York Times and Washington Post shared a Pulitzer Prize “for deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.” A 2017 Time magazine cover depicted the White House getting a “makeover” to transform it into the Kremlin.

All based on a theory (you know…like the “science” of anthropogenic global warming!) that the president of the United States was a Russian asset—produced by a retired foreign spy whose work was funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. An unbiased observer would have taken the theory’s partisan provenance as a red flag, but most political journalists saw nothing but green lights. No unverified rumor was too salacious and no anonymous tip was too outlandish to print. From CNN to the Times and the Post, from esteemed and experienced reporters to opinion writers and bloggers, everyone wanted a share of the Trump-treason beat. What good is the 21st-century Watergate if you don’t at least make an effort to cast yourself as the fearless journalist risking it all who got that one big tip that brought down a president?

Not only did the press fail to destroy Donald Trump’s presidency; it provided voluminous evidence for his repeated charge of “fake news.”…”

The link which follows provides a view of what Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept finds to be Beyond BuzzFeed: The 10 Worst, Most Embarrassing U.S. Media Failures on the Trump-Russia Story.

Speaking of Progressives and the prevarications they spread like a plague, also writing at NRO, Dennis Prager suggests if we…

“…If you always doubt a leftist claim, you will almost always be closer to the truth. I employed that rule in concluding the collusion story was a fraud, and it served me well.

Name the issue, and you will likely find a left-wing lie. The Left claims our universities are saturated by a “culture of rape.” Not only is that a lie, but deep down, leftists know it’s a lie. The proof? Every left-wing parent who speaks about the “culture of rape” on college campuses sends his or her daughter to college. As no parents would ever send their daughter to an actual rape culture, left-wing parents who send their daughters to college know it is not really a rape culture. They say it is a rape culture solely to buttress the feminist argument that American males are misogynists and to provide young women with the highest status in the left-wing value system: victim.

Although I haven’t been a student or taught at a college in many decades, that’s how I knew American colleges were not rape cultures. I knew it because the Left said they were. Again, just assume the Left is lying, and you will be close to arriving at the truth.

How do I know there are only two sexes? The most obvious reason is, again, common sense. But the second most powerful reason is the Left denies there are only two sexes and claims there is no such thing as sex, only subjective “gender.” Last week, a writer for the left-wing magazine The Nation defended the victory of two high-school male-bodied trans women who defeated all the female-bodied women in a Connecticut track competition — because, in his words, “trans women are in fact women.”

Now, we all know trans women are not in fact women, that they are biologically men who regard themselves as women. And in private life, I have no problem treating trans women as women if they look and dress female and take on a female name. But it is completely unjust to have them compete against born females in sports. They are not in fact women; they consider themselves women despite the facts. Again, assuming the Left is lying to advance its agenda leads one to truth.

…So, while the latest left-wing lie – Trump–Russia collusion — is now exposed, there is little to cheer about. Without missing a beat, the Left — the Democratic party, the media and academia — will move on to another lie.

And there will be no soul-searching on the part of the media or the rest of the Left.

Why won’t there be? Because no leftist acknowledges the collusion story was a lie.

Truth has never been a left-wing value. Like “gender,” it is whatever you want it to be.“

Mr. Prager’s statement to the contrary notwithstanding, we for one would have a problem treating trans women as women.  Frankly, we cannot comprehend the difference betwixt a trans woman, trans man or mass transit.  Rather, we choose to treat any human being we encounter, be they Black, White, Yellow or LGBTQWXYZ, with the same love and compassion our Savior grants sinners such as we.

That being said, nothing in Scripture says mental illness should be treated as normal, nor those guilty of crimes allowed to escape justice.  And if you ever wanted evidence there’s a two-tiered system of jurisprudence in America, here you have it:

Jussie Smollett charges dropped, actor won’t be prosecuted on charges he faked attack

As Guy Benson notes at Townhall.com:

“They’re effectively conceding his guilt, but letting him off with “time served” (it’s unclear whether he’s actually done the community service in question) and a tiny forfeited bond.  A judge has also agreed to seal all the relevant records in the case, a stunning development that isn’t getting enough attention.  In response, Smollett’s attorneys issued a mind-bending celebratory statement, reiterating the ludicrous claim that their client is an innocent victim who was attacked by unknown assailants.  How can this be spun as a just outcome if the criminal is maintaining his farcical lies?“

The Assistant State’s Attorney who made the final call to drop the charges says his office stands by the investigation and the filing of the charges. This is not an exoneration, he says, just a decision to prioritize prosecuting criminals who threaten public safety.  I don’t agree with this calculation (the effect of crimes like this on society should also weigh heavily), but again, how could they not even wring a confession out of the guy in exchange for walking free?  The case, according to basically everyone involved, was rock solid.  Smollett allegedly rehearsed the damn thing, for crying out loud.  The police are saying they were prepared for trial, and this sandbagging is a “punch in the gut.”“

Here’s the juice: were Smollett anything other than a gay Negro, he’d already be serving time.

Here’s hoping Trump orders HIS DOJ to go after Smollett on federal mail fraud charges for the letter he sent himself which set this entire farce in motion.

In the meantime…

Here’s hoping the whole fetid city sinks into Lake Michigan…and takes Smollett, his attorneys, the Obamas, Rahmbo and the entire Cook County prosecutors office with it.

In a follow-up to our earlier items regarding the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the safety of the 737 Max models, here are the unedited comments of two U.S. pilots actually trained for hands-on flying rather than simply monitoring and adjusting settings for a computer.

Exhibit “A”:

Totally agree, and truth be told, most aircraft have some system very similar to this… WHICH YOU’RE TRAINED FROM DAY 1 TO KNOW HOW TO USE, AS WELL AS HOW TO RECOVER FROM FAILURES DURING ITS USE.  Agree also very much with the hand-flying comment.  We too try to hand fly as much as we can, but also pick where we do it to ensure the safety of our aircraft/aircraft/cargo, as well as the efficiency/capacity of the environment in which we’re in.  For us, we also have the luxury of picking the TIME we do it as well, since we’re basically the only people up there during the majority of time we fly.  International OPS everywhere we go are almost identical to LAX (non-stop, max-capacity), and incur similar traffic loads day or night.  Hard to explain to those who aren’t in the field operating, seeing this every day, but there just isn’t the same character/capability out there with most international carriers.  There just isn’t.  They don’t train like we do, nor do they come from the backgrounds we do.  And probably most importantly, the culture of mutual support, and excellence in operation just isn’t something they understand.  As much as I don’t want to say it, I’d prepare yourself to see more accidents like this… maybe a different system behind it, or a different phase of flight… buy they’ll occur.  No doubt.  You just simply can’t fix “stupid”… which extends to people, systems, businesses, and other agencies that don’t work the way we’re used to seeing in the US.  Take yourself out of the “globalism” myth… it just isn’t the same other places.

Exhibit “B”:

Hello all,

This is from my nephew who is a VERY senior captain flying for Southwest. Been flying the 737 MAX.

From what I can gather these incidents appear to be pilot error due to poor training.

Hi!  ….   Thanks for passing the 737 stuff from the forum on to me. It is amazing to see the errors and omissions of the “experts”.  I certainly don’t consider myself an expert by IQ or holding a doctorate. But I do have over 25 years flying the 737 so I think I’m not clueless at least.

The runaway trim caused by the MCAS can occur from other causes as well. It has been around since the original 737-200. My guess, emphasize guess, is that both of these were MCAS. To be honest it doesn’t really matter what causes the runaway trim. The procedure is simple and lightning fast. A simple movement of 2 switches both right together and in easy reach shuts the whole situation down. Less than 5 seconds to accomplish the procedure. And I can effect a 5 second delay to the trim with the switch under my thumb.

I know it’s politically incorrect but American pilots are trained to different standards. Even if they were to remove the MCAS system, which they shouldn’t, it would not avert a repeat with pilots who can’t handle a runaway trim situation.

I understand the “not enough hand flying” argument. I certainly agree with foreign carriers and from my observations SWA does more hand flying than even other US carriers. What scares me is the “expert” talk of mandating more hand flying. That can be dangerous. While I hand fly a lot I still pick my times carefully. In and out of Amarillo is a great place. The arrival into LAX or LGA may not be the best choice. Lol. Not the same environment as 1994.

Once again, everything about these accidents screams it’s an AIRCREW TRAINING problem, NOT a Boeing design flaw.  But a deficiency in Third World aircrew training screams “racism” and “colonialism”; hence, the two crashes MUST be the fault of the preeminent manufacturer of passenger transport aircraft in the world.

And in a cross between the EnvironMental Moment and Profiles in Cowardice, Senate Dimocrats took a page from the ’50’s and ducked and covered…

The Senate Takes the AOC Test

Politicians admit that America won’t run on renewables.

…rather than stand tall (57 votes against, 0 votes for and 43 votes “present”!) in the face of what sponsor Ed Markey of Assachusetts termed a matter of “life and death”.  Like most politicians, Progressives talk a good game; but even they recognize the difference between life and death and political suicide.

Which brings us, appropriately enough, to The Lighter Side:

Then there’s these from Balls Cotton:

Finally, we’ll call it a day with yet another sordid story straight from the pages of The Crime Blotter, and this just in from Tulsa:

Arby’s manager kills man who spat on her

“An Oklahoma Arby’s manager has been arrested after shooting and killing a customer she had gotten into an argument with, police say. Deionna Young, 25, is facing a first-degree murder charge stemming from the alleged incident that unfolded Saturday in Tulsa.

Police told Fox News that Desean Tallent, the deceased 25-year-old, threatened and spat on Young before leaving the store. They did not elaborate on what caused the dispute.

One hour later, they say, Tallent returned to the store and Young got in her car and followed him out of the parking lot. Young, who reportedly was in possession of a .45 caliber handgun without a license, then shot at Tallent’s SUV one time and struck him in the torso…

…Tallent later crashed the car into the entrance of a Walmart and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Young reportedly went back to work…”

Though Ms. Young displays a tendency to overreact, one has to admire her work ethic.

Magoo